The Importance of the Diabetes Community
This is the second in a series of five pieces that I wrote for Omnipod's Suite D blog. Part three is live on Suite D now and will arrive here next month.
It's a paid freelance gig, you can read my disclaimer about that on part one of the series (link below),
Part 2: Finding Support
My bedroom was pitch black and the house completely silent. It was well after three in the morning and I hadn’t been to sleep. My belief that my daughter Arden’s blood sugar would rise to a safe level was tenuous that evening so I was watching over her even more than usual.
When I fall asleep the likelihood of me waking up when I need to is slim. So on nights like this one I tend to just stay up. This night happened before we became continuous glucose monitor users and I would periodically walk from my room to hers to check her blood sugar. Each time I climbed back into bed, I became a little less certain that I could stay awake. Because my wife was sleeping I was trying to stay still, my eyes were sore from a long day that was getting longer. I had to stop watching television on my laptop, because it felt like there was sand in my eyes. I was exhausted, bleary-eyed and pretty sure that I was about to nod off – so I opened my Twitter app and, perhaps out of desperation to stay awake or maybe in an effort to not fall apart, I told who ever may be out there what was happening.
A few silent minutes later, I received a response from a woman whom I’d never met. She told me that she was also sitting up watching a blood sugar that she didn’t quite trust. That was it really. We didn’t talk much or offer one another solace. It was sort of a, “I’m here doing this thing and it’s getting the best of me.” And a reply that basically said, “Me too.”
I closed my laptop, the abyss of the night enveloped me and I began to sob tears of relief.
I was buoyed by the notion that there was another person in the world that was doing what I was and suddenly everything felt better. I learned that night that it isn’t the diabetes that made me feel alone and it wasn’t the darkness that caused me to want to reach out; I was being oppressed by the feeling that no one understood our life.
And just like that, with a tweet, I found sameness with someone that I couldn’t see, hear or touch. My diabetes community expanded. No longer would I have to wait for a JDRF walk to talk to a person who understood my life. Supportive glances, understanding words and the satiation that sameness brought, they were all I needed to feel recharged. Support came that night, but not in the form of mentorship or advice. This wasn’t a plan for counting carbs or talks of how to best prep a pump site. It was simple, beautiful and kind. A brief encounter with a person who had walked in my shoes and reassured me that I was not alone.
I’ve learned diabetes jargon, gathered information about insulin pumps, medications and ways of handling type 1 diabetes from the diabetes community. They’ve taught me with their openness to be comfortable with others being my rock when I can’t do it for myself. With the help of these wonderful new friends I began to see a light at the end of a tunnel, I was beginning to believe that it was possible for us to find our way back to feeling normal.
Read 'The Importance of the Diabetes Community Series
Part 1: How it Saved Our Family
Part 2: Currently Reading
Part 3: Coming in April
Part 4: Coming in May
Part 5: Coming in June
Feel what it’s like to wear the OmniPod – with no obligations. Click here to order a free Demo today.
Dexcom Share2 Review and Overview
This may be the shortest yet most complete product review that I've ever done.
What is it?
The Dexcom Share2 Receiver is a continuous glucose monitor that has cloud sharing capability built-in.
What does that mean?
The Dexcom Platinum G4 is a glucose monitoring system. A sensor is placed under the skin. The sensor is in physical contact with a transmitter. The transmitter sends a signal to a receiver. The receiver shows your blood glucose value and trend arrows so you can see the direction and speed that your BG is moving.
The Share2 is an updated version of the Platinum G4 and is exactly the same as the G4 but with one huge addition... it has bluetooth. So now in addition to...
Sensor> Transmitter> Receiver
It can also be setup like this...
Sensor> Transmitter> Receiver> iPhone> Cloud> iPhone
The addition of bluetooth allows your iPhone (Android coming soon) to act as an uploader and that is how others, who you give permission to, are able to see the BG of the wearer. This is excellent for parents, caregivers or a friend that is willing to watch your BG while you have the flu.
Does it work?
In a word - yup. In more words, Yes it does and it works exactly as advertised. I now have access to Arden's CGM data on my iPhone 24/7 with the Dexcom Follow app. I see what she sees.
How do I get one?
All of the upgrade info that you need is contained here in my recent blog post. If you already purchased a Dexcom Share Cradle you will receive the new Share2 for free. Tons of other upgrade details are at the link.
What else do I need to know?
- Setup is a snap, you do not have to be a whiz with computers, apps, or phones to get the Share2 up and running. It took me maybe ten minutes to get Arden's working.
- For the moment it is iOS compatible but Dexcom promises Android by the end of 2015 (I bet it is much sooner).
- We don't see additional battery drain on our phones.
- No more getting out of bed to check a CGM!
- Sleepovers just got a whole lot easier...
- You need two iPhones (or an Internet connected iPods) to make the setup complete.
- Dexcom maintains the cloud, there is no charge for the service.
- I just posted a Juicebox podcast episode all about the Share2, the next generation G5 (Same cool cloud stuff but you won't need a receiver if you would rather use your phone to see your BGs).
- Where can I get the Share and Follow apps? On the iTunes Store. Be sure to get Share2 (Share was for the cradle).
If you have question please ask them in the comment section and I will do my best to answer them quickly.
Giveaway: Leaf and Love Lemonade
Enter for your chance to win 1 of 5 lemonade prizes from Leaf & Love Organic Lemonade!
My guest on episode 6 of the Juicebox Podcast (out today) is fellow D-Mom and entrepreneur, Sara Williams-Curran. I spoke to Sara about her daughter's type 1 diabetes diagnosis, how her desire to have her daughter drink a juice box without needing insulin led to starting a company and much, much more.
After we recorded the show I asked Sara if she would like to give away some of her lemonade on Arden's Day and she very kindly agreed!
There are multiple ways to enter this giveaway and some methods even allow entries once a day. The more times you enter, the more chances you'll have to win!
Prizes include:
(1) Case of 32 Leaf and Love Organic Lemonade Juice boxes
(4) 8 packs of Leaf and Love Organic Lemonade Juice Boxes
(1) Autographed copy of my book, Life Is Short, Laundry Is Eternal: Confessions of a Stay-At-Home Dad
Listeners of episode 6 of the Juicebox Podcast will be given a coupon code that will take $4.00 off a Leaf and Love 32 pack purchase on Amazon.com. Code Valid until April 5, 2015. Listen now
Rules: US residents only. Five winners will be picked at random. First name drawn will win a case of 32 Leaf and Love Lemonade jukeboxes and the next four names chosen will win an 8 pack. And the last name drawn wins a copy of Life Is Short, Laundry Is Eternal. 6 total winner. Winners will provide a mailing address that will be given by me to the owners of Leaf and Love for shipping (book winners info stays with me). Arden's Day and Leaf and Love will not retain your personal information. Winners have 3 days from notification to provide shipping information or a new winner will be drawn. Prizes do not have cash value, no purchase necessary.
Dexcom Share2 Unboxing Photos
High resolution images of the new Dexcom Share2 Receiver
Click to Enlarge...
My first-look review will be available early next week...
Wall Street Journal: Smartwatch App Helps Track Glucose
Not sure if you remember the recent Wall Street Journal article about Apple watch apps and Dexcom because it was behind WSJ's pay content protection (meaning you had to subscribe to read the entire article). I reached out to the author of the article and asked if I could have the text so those without a subscription could read it. She very kindly sent it to me. A huge thank you to Kate Linebaugh from the WSJ for supporting the diabetes community!
Dexcom Monitor Produces a Graph on Apple Watch
from the WSJ: Kate Linebaugh
DexCom Inc. is designing an app that will display readings from its diabetes glucose monitor on Apple Inc. ’s smartwatch, giving the watch an early foothold in the health-care market at a time when regulatory treatment of such systems has eased.
DexCom’s glucose monitor tracks a person’s blood-sugar levels continuously. The company has shown a picture of the app, which converts that data into a simple graph that is just a glance at the wrist away. It says the app is expected to be ready when the Apple Watch is launched in April.
Apple declined to comment. The company hasn’t accepted any apps for the coming watch yet but has provided guidelines and code to developers for creating apps for it. The latest iPhone operating system increased its health and fitness offerings.
Image from diaTribe's twitter feed - follow them @diaTribeNews
The Food and Drug Administration had been closely scrutinizing such applications. But the agency loosened its oversight in late January, months after a group of software engineers, many of whose children have Type 1 diabetes, developed a system for monitoring diabetes patients’ blood sugar over the Internet. The system was distributed without first getting regulatory approval.
The group’s effort challenged the slow pace of innovation and regulatory approval in the field. It also highlighted the growing role that Silicon Valley companies and software developers hope to have in monitoring and maintaining people’s health.
Some 29 million Americans have diabetes. Between 5% and 10% of them have Type 1, an autoimmune condition in which the body is unable to convert glucose into energy. People with Type 1 diabetes rely on taking insulin and regular monitoring to make sure their blood sugar doesn’t go dangerously high or low, both of which can cause life-threatening conditions.
The DexCom monitor uses a hair’s-width sensor under the skin to measure blood glucose levels every five minutes.
Previously, the FDA considered glucose monitors and any associated software to be Class III medical devices, meaning they received the highest level of regulatory scrutiny. But the spread of NightScout, the system developed by the group of software engineers, and DexCom’s submission of a separate iPhone app for review prompted the FDA to change course last month.
DexCom’s monitors will remain Class III devices, but software that helps display the data they produce on mobile devices or smartwatches now only needs to be registered with the FDA and doesn’t require prior marketing approval.
The FDA has been reassessing its health-apps policies. “We felt that the risks that the app imposed weren’t as high,” said Alberto Gutierrez, director of the FDA’s Office of In Vitro Diagnostics and Radiological Health.
The issue came to a head last year when the group of software engineers, working on their own time, developed NightScout, which met a critical need. The software takes data from a glucose monitor made by DexCom, mainly for Type 1 diabetes patients, and uploads it to the Internet. That allows parents—and caregivers—to keep track of their children’ blood sugar from afar via their cellphones, tablets and Pebble watches.
NightScout spread quickly to thousands of users who found each other on Facebook and Twitter . By bypassing the FDA, the system’s creators skipped a process that had snarled or deterred formal development of similar products by medical-device companies.
Last fall, the group did take the invention to the FDA. The agency’s new rules give NightScout a pathway to regulatory compliance, according to FDA officials.
DexCom still needs to make sure its Apple Watch app complies with FDA rules. But thanks to the rule change, it doesn’t need to get approval before bringing the app to market.
Steve Pacelli, DexCom’s head of strategy, said the regulatory nod for the iPhone app came in January, much faster than the company expected.
